Chris Wondolowski of San Jose Earthquakes argues with the referee about a bad call during the game against Galaxy at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto. Earthquakes defeated LA Galaxy, 4-3. Photograph: Michael Pimentel isiphotos.com/ISI/Corbis

Monday 2 July 2012 10.00 EDT
First published on Monday 2 July 2012 10.00 EDT

Best rivalry in MLS: the California Clasico?

With over 50,000 crammed into Stanford stadium on Saturday night, the California Clasico was sure to be a memorable occasion, no matter what happened on the pitch between San Jose and LA Galaxy. But what the fans got was, well, a Classico.

This was one of those games the neutral, or fans of either team, didn't want to end. Goals flew in thick and fast in a 4-3 win for San Jose, who staged another staggering come from behind victory, having trailed 3-1 midway through the first half. As for LA, three straight wins last week had seen them catapult up the conference standings, but their Achilles heel surfaced against a fired up 'Quakes outfit: defense. Elementary mistakes were made to let San Jose back into the game, with defending at set pieces particularly shocking.

While LA's defending has been questionable thus far, David Beckham'sform has been anything but that – the midfielder has been quietly grinding away all season long for the Galaxy without the usual fanfare we associate with him. But here, even when LA trailed late on, Beckham charged around like a man possessed – playing like he had a point to prove, not for the first time in his career. His omission from the British Olympic squad was shocking to his teammates and many people around the globe – even Landon Donovan called it "devastating" this week when asked. As an immediate riposte, in this game Beckham scored a typical free kick goal, earned a yellow card and was at the heart of a small melée at full time, to almost steal the show. Almost.

Beckham's efforts were in vain though, as San Jose, a.k.a "The Goonies", launched yet another stunning comeback in a season full of them, capped by Chris Wondolowski's game-winning goal, just before the hour mark – Wondo finishing with a sublime back heel that left Bruce Arena shaking his head.

The 'Quakes had had to do it the hard way again. Losing 'keeper Jon Busch at half time derailed them somewhat, but they fought back with Lenhart and Wondo menacing up top, then super sub Alan Gordon arriving to keep the charge going.

As for LA, their star defender Omar Gonzalez returned to full training this week after tearing his ACL back in January. Maybe that will put a smile back on Arena's face. While LA are perhaps a few weeks away from resolving their defensive frailties, their offense continues to fire. But with San Jose taking the reins as California's number one team, the Galaxy have a long way to go to catch the 'Quakes in the standings. And after two demoralizing defeats for LA – throwing away two goal leads both times in 2012 – it's added fuel to the fire that this season, the California Classico is perhaps the most historic and intense rivalry the league has. JPW

Houston ring changes, but Ching never changes

Interesting tactical times in MLS, as more and more teams at least experiment with variations on a 4-3-3. Houston are the latest side to break from straight 4-4-2 as Dominic Kinnear fits the pieces together around his new designated player, the Honduran Oscar Boniek Garcia. Playing on the outside of Houston's midfield and getting forward alongside Davis on the other flank, Garcia made the first goal for Davis with a dangerous chipped ball across the back line that was knocked on perfectly by Mac Kandji, and looked generally busy in the first half.

With Cameron back into midfield (after a rough couple of games in his now customary center back position) and Camargo playing just off Bruin and Kandji, this was a very different looking Houston, with Kinnear perhaps reasoning, with some justification, that he could afford a more attack-minded fluid formation at home against a Philadelphia side who still haven't quite figured out the best formation for their travels. The visitors were also missing the in-form McInerney up front to play their own 4-3-3.

It was a bold enough move, on the back of two games where Houston had conceded 7 goals, and it paid off with a win – though not without some scares at the back. The default option for a 4-3-3 is to play a high line to keep the midfield well contested and that can cause problems – had Perlaza taken an early chance the game could have gone very differently. As it was, when Philadelphia did score, it was from a turn and shot from distance from Keon Daniel. Houston sometimes looked unsure of their duties off the ball, and aside from the goal, Philadelphia had their moments, and looked confident – coming into the game buoyed by their rampant victory over Sporting KC (the MLS 4-3-3 exemplars prior to this season), and by their earning of a place in the US Open Cup semis.

Eventually though, the Union were undone by a familiar foe and a familiar tactic. With time ticking away, Brian Ching, on as a sub (and a classic 4-4-2 center forward throwback), went up for an aerial ball and used his height smartly to go to chest, rather than head, the ball. Had he done the latter, the shove on him that bought the resultant penalty might have been regarded as a 50-50. As it was the ref went straight to the spot and Ching knocked in the spot kick of the crossbar, for a first goal at BBVA stadium, and a welcome reminder to Kinnear that when intricacy fails, he has some tried and trusted direct options. GP

Eddie Johnson is every version of a target man

For better or worse, Eddie Johnson was THE man for Seattle Sounders this week, in a week that showed the full range of what he brings to this Sounders side. Having picked his spot with a fierce shot from an acute angle, to cut the deficit at Portland last week, he weighed in with a couple of headers to equalize and then give the Sounders the lead at New England on Saturday, taking his personal goal haul for the past week to three.

Obviously that sort of form attracts defensive attention and with Fredy Montero out suspended (more on that in a moment) for Saturday's game, Johnson was even more of a focal point than usual. And there's the rub – Johnson's response to his targeting by his team mates has been everything that could have been asked of him this week, but his response to the more negative targeting by those in opposing colors and even those on the sidelines has been rather more problematic at times. Last week at Portland he was at the heart of clashes between the players of both teams and at the final whistle of a bad tempered Cup game against San Jose, his apparent retaliatory taunting of the Earthquakes subs resulted in a bench-clearing fracas.

I was surprised he wasn't the one to be carded against Portland on Sunday – not because he deserved it – but because he's the first to defend his team mates when there's provocation. He's a proud player, and an obvious target for opposing players and fans.

There's something to that (and Montero, Fernandez and Evans may be obliquely grateful for Johnson drawing the focus from their own continued indiscretions...), though with a recent run of disappointing results, Seattle needed a little more of the cool goal-scoring exploits and a little less of the theatrical aggression that had cost them focus and points coming in to this game. Johnson duly did his footballing part on Saturday – knuckling down to lead the Seattle attack and feeding well off the suspended Montero's replacement, Rosales. It was Rosales who, pushed up behind Johnson, poached the ball off Lechner for the cross that led to Seattle's first goal, and the Argentinian was inventive throughout.

Appropriately enough, given the Revs' recent form, there's a coda to this story, as Lechner would ultimately be relieved to see the substitute who replaced him, Diego Fagundez, score the game-leveling goal in the 94th minute. A stubborn New England side came back deep into stoppage time, to add a twist in the tale for the second successive week. Last week the ostensible narrative was about Toronto's still leaky revival under Paul Mariner; this week Seattle's need for some discipline. In each case the surprise ending was New England's. Sene is scoring (though arguably not as much as he could do with the chances made for him), Joseph is stabilizing the defensive parts of midfield again and Jay Heaps is making the Revs a more resilient side whose spirit speaks for itself. They've quietly put together a modest run of being unbeaten since May, though the home game against Chicago was the only win in that time. Ironically, given the caveats we're offering about Seattle's front man, the Revs are still lacking a little ruthlessness in front of goal, but for now, they'll be happy enough to still be in touch with that last play-off place. Seattle had to settle for a point, but may also settle for Johnson coming into his own (and for finishing the game with 11 men...). GP

Timbers falter, Rapids on the rise

Before the trip to Dick's Sporting Goods Park on Saturday, Portland could have gone level on points with the Rapids. But they didn't. And they never threatened to either. They were outclassed, outplayed and looked weary as Oscar Pareja's inconsistent Colorado side lived up to their Jekyll and Hyde form.

After defeating Seattle last week – in what many say is the biggest rivalry in the league, California Clasico notwithstanding – the Timbers were hoping to build on that huge Cascadia success. But they looked flat on the road once again, with their away day struggles carrying over from their inaugural MLS season as they're now 2-14-8 on the road all-time in MLS. This season they're still without a road win.

John Spencer's side are struggling. Just when things look up, they nosedive. That pattern continued with Colorado easing to all three points, with two first half strikes from Conor Casey and Jaime Castrillon compounded by Jamie Smith's late third to give Colorado a comfortable 3-0 victory and put the pressure on John Spencer in a stalling second season in charge.

Portland has had success against many teams who play direct, attacking soccer. Yet they've struggled against sides who sit back, soak up the play and force them to come out and dictate the pace and flow of the game. The Timbers are a counter attacking team, so surely they should prosper away from home? You would think, but with Colorado's fluid formation they had to try and grasp the game by the scruff of the neck and they just couldn't do it.

The Rapids, who are still engulfed in a hugely transitional atmosphere, are finding their feet, slowly but surely. With cult heroes such as Casey returning to torment Portland, they're a hybrid of the past and the present. The bullish never say die attitude that encapsulated Gary Smith's era, when they won the 2010 MLS Cup, has returned, but a hint of Latin American flair and creativity has been developed. It may not be a groundbreaking year for the Rapids but Pareja is laying the building blocks diligently for future success.

As for the Timbers, the patient approach hasn't quite worked. Many would have expected them to be in the top three in the West, challenging for the title after narrowly missing the playoffs last season. No doubt their poor road form is holding Spencer's side back, but so is their direct, one-dimensional style of play. That's not something that can be solved overnight, no matter how inspirational the TIFO's or Timbers Army are. JPW

Clinical Columbus, RSL's losing streak lengthens

The Crew did it again – displayed their ruthless nature in front of goal, that is. On Saturday on a sweltering night in Columbus, the Canary yellows dispatched slumping RSL 2-0 with Eddie Gaven and Tony Tchani grabbing the goals in the first half.

The Crew recorded three shots on goal and scored with two of them. Not too shabby. Earlier on in the year they went on a similar run, scoring three times after three shots on goal in a two game stretch versus San Jose and Seattle. And with the loss of last seasons top scorer Andres Mendoza they have had to go into ultra-clinical mode, with no real replacement ever coming in for the Peruvian striker.

Contributions from midfield have been in abundance all season and Tchani has come into his own, scoring two of the Crew's last three goals. The rangy midfielder has finally got off the treatment table and resembles Patrick Vieira's dominating style in the center of the field. The Crew lacked a two way midfielder for some time, now the 23-year-old is beginning to deliver the goods.

As for Real Salt Lake, the downward spiral continues. It's now three defeats in a row for Jason Kreis' side after back-to-back losses to LA and San Jose. On paper RSL don't have many weaknesses in comparison to other elite MLS sides – which they still are. However the Utah outfit will be hoping this string of defeats is just a blip, one that they'd rather happen now than in the closing weeks of the season. But the offensive fluidity, which has caused so many problems for opposition defenses, has suddenly disappeared. Espindola, Velazquez, Johnson, Morales, Saborio and Gil have not been firing on all cylinders. Every player has a dip in form but with so many seemingly below par at the same time, Salt Lake have to regroup fast to keep up with in-form San Jose.

It won't take much – a goal off of Espindola's shin... a magic through ball from Johnson... a deflected effort from Morales... RSL just need to get a foothold and score early in games, so they can settle down and force the opposition to attack them. Columbus didn't have to do that; they took limited opportunities and struck clinically, as they now often do. The Crew then sat in and frustrated RSL, to canter towards the finish line and three valuable points. JPW